Deja' Vu Dancing

There is a tremendous joy in playing with small children or grandchildren. When they are happy and giggly, the world just blurs away. Mike or Christie (probably Mike) shot these two pictures of me playing with Evie during their recent visit. It almost looks like we were dancing, and in fact, we may have been imitating some of the moves.

Lest you think I'm getting too carried away, I do realize that this is indeed a common pose taken by parents and grandparents. It's just a natural act given the exuberance of kids. But it doesn't stop me from getting that old deja' vu feeling, all over again. Christie had it, too, but from a more interesting perspective. Whereas I remember holding Christie just like I was holding Evie, Christie remembered herself being in Evie's place.

Again, this is standard behavior in countless families world-wide. What is less common is to have similar photos taken generations apart. I remembered the shot below, snapped by my dad or step-mother, at a Chinese restaurant in L.A.'s Chinatown district. Christie was probably about four or five at the time, just a year or two older than Evie is now. Ironically, all of us were right across the street from that restaurant a couple of weeks ago having Dim Sum at the Empress Pavilion. How's that for coincidence? Regardless, the similarity between the three photos is enough to give me goosebumps. But then again, I'm a sentimental kind of guy, so you get what you pay for.